EVALUATION OF THE READINESS TO CHANGE QUESTIONNAIRE WITH PROBLEM DRINKERS IN TREATMENT

Prochaska and DiClemente's (1982,1983) readiness to change model propo ses that people resolve health-related concerns by working through a q ualitative progression of distinct motivational stages. The present st udy examined the responses of 66 (44 males, 22 females) mildly depende nt outpatient alcohol abusers to the Readiness to Change Questionnaire , a scale developed to classify individuals according to their motivat ional stage. It has been suggested that the RTCQ may have applicabilit y to problem drinkers in treatment. Reliability analyses conducted on the questionnaire's three subscales resulted in alpha coefficients of .30 for the Precontemplation subscale,.52 for the Contemplation subsca le, and .76 for the Action subscale. The low internal reliability for the first two subscales does not support the use of this questionnaire in a treatment context at this time. Further studies are needed to re fine the subscales. A psychometrically sound measure, once developed, would provide guidance in treatment matching.